Construction starts rally in South Florida during October: report

South Florida’s builders were rolling in projects this October, with construction starts more than doubling year-over-year to a total of $1.54 billion.

A new report from research firm Dodge Data & Analytics shows October breathed new life into South Florida’s construction industry, which had been on pace to outspend 2015 until business began constricting in August.

By far, residential projects showed the most activity, accounting for $1.1 billion of the construction contracts awarded last month. That’s roughly three times the $349 million spent on housing starts spent in October 2015, according to the report.

Nonresidential contracts, which encompass everything from hotels to government buildings, also saw a spike in construction starts last month. Contractors began work on $428 million worth of those projects in October, marking an increase in spending of 217 percent.

Overall, the $1.5 billion in contracts signed last month put this year back on track to outpace the $10 billion that flowed into South Florida’s construction industry during 2015, earning it the rank of No. 2 in the nation for building starts behind New York City. So far in 2016, $9.3 billion in residential and nonresidential projects have begun, giving the industry two months to make up the remaining $700 million. — Sean Stewart-Muniz